- A Google Home speaker is revealed in an early unboxing
- The sound quality and app interface are said to be impressive
- However, the power cable cannot be removed from the device
The brand new Google Home Speaker is finally going on sale, but an early unboxing video posted online reveals a design decision made by Google that many users will likely be less than happy with: the power cable cannot be removed.
You can check out the unboxing on Reddit (via Android Authority ), which shows off the device’s aesthetic that we’ve known since the first official reveal last October — as well as giving us the reveal about the power cable.
The Nest Mini device, which more or less replaces the Google Home Speaker, has a detachable USB-C power cable, which means that when it’s not in use, you can more easily put it away. On the other hand, the Nest Audio – another speaker now discontinued since the new model arrived – has a fixed power cable.
It seems that a detachable power cable is something that quite a few smart speaker owners like. “This is a nightmare for repair options that I am a massive advocate of,” writes the original unboxer.
Some positive, one negative
Look at
According to the information in the video, the Google Home Speaker comes with a USB-C cable that is about 1.52 meters long and cannot be pulled out. There is a 30W power block at the other end which can be removed.
On the plus side, our unboxer reports that sound quality from the speaker is good, that the app component has a “cool” interface, and that setting up the device is straightforward – apparently taking less than 10 minutes.
As with the Nest Mini, there are apparently touch controls available on top of the speaker, as well as hidden lights to report status information and volume levels. Overall, the first impressions from this user are positive.
Only the power cable situation draws criticism: “the non-detachable cable killed it for me” writes one poster (who is apparently concerned about cats playing with the cable), while the original poster says they are “extremely disappointed with the engineers”. Another comment also takes a dim view: “The reason is always money.”
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